CESSNA 172 — Pembroke Pines, FL

What happened

The flight instructor and two passengers were departing for a local flight when the accident occurred. Airport security video showed that shortly after the takeoff roll the airplane rotated and lifted off normally, but the airplane’s pitch rapidly increased during the initial climb, which continued to an altitude of about 125 ft. The airplane then began a roll to the left that quickly developed into a steep descent to impact with the flat terrain on airport property.

Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed that the propeller blades exhibited damage signatures indicative of engine power during impact. The cockpit front seat rails and their associated seat frame latches displayed no anomalies or evidence of aft seat slippage that would account for the high pitch angle during initial climb, and the weight and balance was within limits. The examination did not reveal evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the flight controls or other airframe components that would preclude normal operation.

The surviving passenger could not recall any details about the flight, and there was no onboard recorded electronic data available for review. A video study was performed using the security video footage and concluded that during takeoff and initial climb, there was a large wing angle of attack (AOA) preceding a bank to the left. Immediately before the left bank, the AOA was estimated to be 14.5°. Given this information, is likely that during the initial climb, the airplane exceeded its critical angle of attack, which resulted in a power-on aerodynamic stall and subsequent loss of control at an altitude that was too low to recover.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.